Topic 42 What is a very important skill a person should learn?

Success has been an issue broadly discussed and defined by different Approaches (принцип, метод, подход). Some say that being successful means being wealthy. Others associate success with popularity and power. A third approach would relate (связать) success with social and emotional well-being (благополучие). So we come to the questions: "When can be someone considered successful?" and "What skills make success easier to achieve?"

In order to answer (Для того, чтобы) the second question, we should have a point of view about what success is. I consider that someone is really successful when that person is able to handle and enjoy social relationships. A leader can be powerful and recognized, but if he is unable to enjoy his leadership and feels lonely because he cannot establish a deep friendship, can we really say such leader is successful? On the other hand, a wealthy person may have all the possessions money can buy, but again, what if he cannot manage a marriage or a friendship? This person is likely to feel lonely and unsatisfied (неудовлетворенный).

Developing social abilities may be a very helpful skill for a person to learn, in order to be successful in the social-emotional side of his or her life. One ability to develop could be effective and assertive (affirmative, aggressive) communication. Many misunderstandings and conflicts can be prevented if we express our ideas clearly and respectfully, and if we learn to ask for clarification (просить разъяснений) when we feel threatened or offended by something someone told us. Another ability could be learning to handle teamwork. We need to learn to work with others at work, at home, at school, in our community. Getting into an agreement with our parents, children, coworkers and friends is a situation that can become hard to handle sometimes. Dealing with teamwork can be really helpful. Finally we could add the ability to deal with conflicts with others and conflicts with our own wishes or decisions. We will always find obstacles in our paths (на нашем пути); it can be quite useful to know how to overcome them.

In my opinion, I would define success as being able to enjoy what you have, what you do and who you deal with everyday. And to achieve success, you should have skills that help you handle relationships with your peers (с коллегами). We are social creatures; we need each other to succeed, and to enjoy our success.

Topic 42 What is a very important skill a person should learn?

"It is never too late to learn" is an English proverb (пословица) meaning that people should never stop learning all his life. In other words, life is a process of constant learning, which enables an individual to make continuous progress to perfect him or her as a human being. Therefore, I deem (Я считаю) the ability to learn is the most important skill of a person in the world today to achieve any accomplishments (результатов).

We are living in an era of knowledge explosion. There are too many skills to be grasped (понять, усвоить) by a single individual within a comparatively short period of time (в течение сравнительно короткого периода времени). Skills considered necessary nowadays include English, computer, driving, etc. It is not very likely for a fresh college graduate to be proficient (опытный) in all these skills. The most possible occurrence (появление, возникновение, случай) is that a person first chooses his field of profession and then starts to master those required skills in his field. Thus, I argue that the ability to learn new skills is more essential (необходимый) than the skills themselves.

Another reason for my avocation (профессия, призвание) for the learning ability is that if a person is capable of acquiring new knowledge soon, he must be a smart, trainable and adaptable person who is what the rapidly developed society needs. In a society fraught (полный, наполненный) with new difficulties and problems, a quick-witted (сообразительный) person, when faced with them, will come up with solutions more easily than those who only know "the skills." That is why I believe the capacity to acquire knowledge carries more weight than "the knowledge" itself.

In short, in a time teeming with many unprecedented events (беспрецедентные события), the problemsolving ability or new knowledge-acquiring skill is the most crucial (решающий, ключевой) one necessary for a person who wants to be successful.